Cham people prepare for Kate Fest
Preparations have begun for the Cham people's Kate Festival to be held at the Po Sah Inu Tower in Phan Thiet on October 6-7.
The highlights of the annual event will be traditional rituals like a palanquin procession for the costumes of Goddess Poh Sah Inu and the Tong ceremony to dispel poisonous winds. The Cham believe that these winds can cause illnesses and bring bad luck to families.
Other events will include ethnic music and dance shows and contests to making banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake) and banh gung (ginger cake).
Traditional brocade and ceramic exhibitions, folk games and other activities like tug of war will make it a fun day for the entire family.
Viet Nam hotels named most ideal
Four Vietnamese hotels and resorts have been named as the Most Ideal Destinations for 2010 in a recent annual poll by online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia.
The poll found The Nam Hai and Princess d'Annam in Quang Nam Province, Sofitel Legend Metropole Ha Noi, and Sofitel Palace Da Lat to be among the 25 leading hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia.
The Nam Hai and Metropole Ha Noi have been on the list earlier while it is the first time for the other two.
The poll saw voting by more than a million readers who travel frequently and have an annual average income of US$165,000, according to www.SmartTravelAsia.com.
Viet Nam-Japan Day in HCM City
The Japanese consulate in HCM City and the HCM City Youth Cultural House will put on a show of Japanese culture for Viet Nam-Japan Day on September 12.
It will include a performance of traditional Japanese theatre by students, a kendo performance, an origami demonstration, exhibitions of Japanese toys and comic books, and a costume-play show.
Turkish Airline to fly to HCM City
Turkish Airlines has approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam to begin four weekly flights to HCM City starting in December.
Ngo Minh Duc, director of the Huong Giang Travel Co, the general sales agent for the carrier, said there will be flights in either direction on the Istanbul – Bangkok – HCM City route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The carrier will use 270-seat Airbus 340-300 aircraft and fares will be very "competitive" at US$800 to $1,000 for a round trip, he said.
Chopper air taxi service planned
Blue Sky Aviation JST is completing formalities for the launch of its helicopter air taxi service next year.
Do Anh Quan, general director of Blue Sky Air, said the services will be available to business and tourist destinations that have landing facilities, with focus on the south in the initial phase.
The helicopters will be handy for VIPs and tourists who want to have a bird's-eye view of HCM City or make a quick trip to the Cu Chi Guerrilla Warfare Tunnels, he said.
The company also targets foreign business executives who are pressed for time.
Saigontourist organises staff tour
Saigontourist Travel Service Co yesterday began a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) tour of Nha Trang for 1,500 employees of Prudential Viet Nam.
During the three-day tour, the first group of 500 guests took part in team-building activities, sight-seeing tours, and social activities.
Saigontourist has also been arranging MICE tours for 20 other groups comprising 8,000 people. In the first eight months the company has served 40,000 local and foreign MICE guests, a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent. — VNS